In the hours before his release from a Russian prison, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a stunning final request to his captors as part of his exit protocol: to interview President Vladimir Putin. The detail was revealed in a lengthy account of the negotiations that led to Gershkovich’s release published by the newspaper, which revealed the fits-and-starts nature of the prisoner swap that finally became official Thursday. The request was made as part of a final clemency request to Putin, which included a form addressed personally to the Russian dictator. Gershkovich, 32, was also allowed to leave Russia with the papers he had written while detained for more than a year—writings that included the start of a book about the experience. The complicated deal was the largest prisoner swap between the two countries since the end of the cold war nearly three decades ago, and included the Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, who had been jailed in Germany after the brazen broad-daylight murder of a Georgian citizen who fought Russian troops in Chechnya.